Spark-plug



W. F. LANGE.

SPARK PLUG.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 24.19I9.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

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WILLIAM F. LANGE, OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, .AS-SIGNOR TO WALTER F. ACKEMANN, 0F

ELGIN, ILLINQIS.

SPARK-PLUG. x

Application filed July 24, 1919.

To all whom'z't may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. LANGn, a residing at Elwin in the count f of Kane and State of e 2 Illinois have invented new and useful Imy l provements in {Spark-l lugs, of which the following is a full,-clear, and exact descrip.

tion.

My present invention relates to improvements in spark plugs, and has for its objects thc provision of a spark plug which will protect both the sparking terminals and the porcelain, or other insulation employed, from the heat developed from the combustion of the air and fuel in the chamber of the cylinder, and also will protect the insulation from the high pressure resulting from and concomitant with the aforesaid combustion. rlhe exclusion of the high temperature from the ignition chamber not only protects the insulation from deterioration on account of such high temperature, but, also, operates to maintain the current carrying sparking terminals at a lower and more uniform temperature which insures a uniform conductivity and operation of these elements.

v Other objects of my invention are, first, the

provision of an accurately working structure in which the. back pressure into the ignition chamber from the main cylinder chamber will be dependably excluded, and, second, the provision of a structure in which the igniting gases leaving the ignition chamber will be so directed as to wipe. and clean the seating portion of the valve which I employ. lt will also be hereinafter seen that my device secures a wide distribution of the ignited and flaming gases from the ignition chamber to the main chamber of the cylinder, thereby facilitating the ignition of the charge in the cylinder, and a further accomplishment of my spark plug is to fully protect the surfaces of the insulation, as well as the sparking terminals from an accumulation of lubricant, and also largely from the deposition ofcarbon by means of excluding from the ignition chamber the products of combustion taking place within the main cylinder or piston chamber. It will also be seen that if the insulation or the sparking terminals should break, or otherwise come adrift` they will be retained within the ignition chamber and prevented Specification of Letters Patent.

tegrally with the y Patented oct. 5, 1920. serial No. 312,967.

from falling into the main cylinder or piston chamber where they might possibly cause damage. 4

lI attain the aforesaid objects by means of the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichi Figure l isan elevation of a embodying my invention.

F 1g. 2 is a central longitudinal section thereof.

;F ig. 3 is a central section through the ignltion chamber ofthe plug showing how the structure may .economically be built inplug instead of being assembled therewith'.

,F ig. 4 is a fragmental central section of a odified manner of constructing and assembling the structure shown in F igs. 1 and 2. l*

Throughout the several views of the drawings, I have employed the same reference characters for indicating similar parts.

It is believed that my invention may be installed in a great many of the plugs at present onvthe market, so that the plug itself, herein shown, is merely schematic. Such schematic lug consists of an outer casing 4, exteriorllythreaded, at 5, and, preferably, slightly tapered to screw into the cylinder wall of an internal combustion engine. Above the threaded portion, the casing is, preferably, enlarged, at 6, and heX- agonally formed to receive a wrench for properly screwing the aforementioned outer casing into .the cylinder wall.

The bore of the' casingr is enlarged to form a shoulder 7 upon which seats an annular rib or extension 8 provided upon the insulating core 9. -The upper enlarged portion of the casing being internally threaded, at 10, to assemble With a hollow retaining nut 1l, which engages with the annular extension 8 of the insulating core, and for more perfectly sealing this construction, I have shown a copper gasket 12 between the upper edge of the casing 4 and the under surface of the laterally extended upper portion of nut 11. The insulating core is provided with a central bore to receive the conductor rod 13, the lower portion of which is enlarged, at 14, to prevent its withdrawal upwardly through the bore in the insulating core, and is secured in proper position by spark plug means of the nut cooperating with the exteriorly threaded upper end of the conductor rod. Abovethe nut 15 is a binding nut 16 by means of which a circuit wire can be secured in electrical connection withconductorrod 13. Below the enlargement 14, the conductor rod is extended to form a sparking terminal 17 which cooperates with a rod 18 seatedv in and extending from the inner wall of outer casing l to form sparkin T terminals. 4

or the purpose of providing an ignition chamber,'a hollow cylindrical member 19 is inserted and secured in any suitable manner into the lower end of the bore of casing 4. This cylindrical member 19 is transversely bored to provide the diametrieally oppositely positioned pin sockets 20. Slidingly fitted within member 19 is the hollow tube 22, the

lower end of which is closed'by a disk-likev portion 23, the edge whereof extends beyond the outer face of tube 22, and is proportioned so that the upper extended surface of the disk will seat upon the lower edge of the Wa-ll of' the member 19. Tube 22 is longitudinally slotted, at 211, to receive the ends of the pins 25 seated in the pin sockets 20, and the tube 22 is laterally bored just above the disk 23 to provide the preferably, equally spaced ports 26, the slots 24 being so proportioned that the tube 22 will fall by gravity and by pressure created by the initial combustion in the ignition chamber to uncover ports 26.

The operation of my device is as follows: lUpon the suction stroke ofthe engine', and at the initial portion of the compression stroke before pressure is developed in the cylinder, there being no pressure upon the disk 23 of tube 22 and tube 22 being in its lowermost position with ports 26 uncovered, a combustible mixture of air and fuel will enter ports 26 and surround the sparking points. Upon the development of pressure in the main chamber ot' thel cylinder, tube 22 and disk 23 will be forced upwardly thereby closing the ignition chamber about the vsparking terminals from the main chamber of the cylinder. Upon sparking,`the` eX plosive mixture confined within the ignition -chamber' will be ignited, and the iorce de- I 'veloped' will force down tube 22 and disk 23 until th ports 26 will open when the burning ignitedgases will be forced into the eX- plosive mixture in the main chamber of the cylinder. Upon the ignition of the charge contained in the main. chamber of the cylinder sufficient pressure will be developed to force tube 22 and disk 23 upwardly seating disk 23 upon the lower edge of the wall of member 19, and at the same time close ports 26 in tube 22, thereby excluding from the ignition chamber the pressure, the heat and the products of combustionereatedby the ignitionof the relatively large amountof .construction sparking terminals 2T 19. It will also be seen that 'tube 22 tunc.

tions as a valve stem Jfor disk 23, and that the relatively large diameter of tube 22 secures its easy'and dependableworking within member 19 without thenecessity of more than ordinary nicety of construction, and that the rubbing of the outer surface of tube 22 against the inner surface of member 19 will keep their respective surfaces free from the adherence or accumulation of any products of combustion.

It will be further seen that ports 26 open directly between the lower end of member 19 and the upper surface of disk 23 and that the discharge of the ignited gases from these ports will tend to clean these surfaces, and it will also be noted that thelocation oftheextended portion of disk 23 adjacent the ports 26 will causethe spreading of the ignited gases'leaving the ports so as to cause their wider distribution in the main chamber'of the cylinder.

In the modified construction, shown in Fig. 3, instead of providing a separate member 19 to form a downwardly opening passageway for the ignition chamber, I have shown the walls of theouter casing 4 provided with an integral extension 19a to perform the functions of the separate member 19. Otherwise, the constructions are the same.

In the modified construction, shown in Fig. 4c, the downwardly opening passageway of the outer casing 4a is interiorly threaded to receive the exteriorly threaded hollow cylindrical .member 19a. In this form of are seated in the walls of member 19, and by screwing member 19a farther in or farther out an adjustment between the sparking point-s 27 and the central terminal 13 may be made.- I have shown two oppositely arranged sparking points 27; but, one such point, or more than two may be employed ,similar to disk 23, and tube 221 is also provided with ports 26a, similar in position.

and operation to ports 26. The tube 22a is, 139

vof course, longitudinallyslotted, at 29, 29,

to accommodate the termmals 27 projecting from the inner wall of member 19a.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new Patent isll. in a spark plug, a hollow cylindrical member adapted to be secured to the lower end thereof a tube vertically reciprocable therein, means for limiting the reeiprocation of said tube, a disk closing the lowerend of said tube extended to seat upon the lower edge of said cylindrical member when said tube is in its upper position; said tube being provided with ports adapted to be uncovered in the lowermost position thereof.

2. In a spark plug, a chamber surrounding the sparking terminals thereof and having an extension forming a downwardly opening cylindrical passageway, a tube extending into said chamber and reciproeable within said passageway, a closure for the lower end of said tube adapted to seat upon and desire to secure by Letters the lower end of the wall of said cylindrical passageway when said tube is in its uppeil position; said tube being provided with radial ports located to be uncovered in the lowermost position thereof.

3. In a spark plug, a chamber surrounding the sparking terminals thereof and having a downwardly opening cylindrical pas- -sageway, a4 tube ex nding into said chamber and reciprocal) e within said passageway, a closure for the lower end of said tube, means carried by said tube adapted to seat upon the lower end of the wall of said cylindrical passageway when said tube is in its upper position; said tube being provided with ports located to be uncovered in the lowermost position thereof.

Signed at Elgin, county of Kane and State of Illinois, this 21st day ot' July, 1915).

WILLIAM F. LANGE. Witnesses HENRY G. VooD, CARL F. Rrrnnenn 

